Alabama firm buys Pasco County, Florida bank for $31.3 million
Birmingham-based National Commerce Corporation (NCC) is purchasing Patriot Bank of Trinity, Florida in a deal worth $31.3 million. NCC is the parent company of National Bank of Commerce (NBC). The combined institution will have approximately $2.6 billion in assets. “We are excited to announce the merger with Patriot Bank,” said John Holcomb, NCC’s chair and chief executive officer. “We have gotten to know David Key over the past couple of years, and we are pleased to partner with him and his team in our entry into the Tampa market.” David Key, Patriot Bank president and chief executive officer, added: “We are pleased to announce our affiliation with National Commerce Corporation. We believe that our cultures are well-suited for one another and that we will be able to better serve customers in the Tampa market as part of a larger community banking organization.” Terms of the agreement include each share of Patriot Bank common stock issued and outstanding up to the effective time of the merger to be converted into the right to receive 0.1711 shares of NCC common stock and $0.725 in cash, without interest. Outstanding options to buy Patriot Bank common stock before the date of the merger will be canceled. Holders of options that are “in the money” will receive a cash payment as consideration. Boards of NCC, NBC, and Patriot Bank approved the transaction. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals and approval by Patriot Bank shareholders. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. acted as NCC’s as the financial adviser to NCC; Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C. was its legal adviser. Raymond James & Associates, Inc. acted as Patriot Bank’s financial adviser; Smith MacKinnon, PA acted as legal adviser. National Bank of Commerce runs seven full-service banking offices in Alabama, as well as 10 full-service banking offices in central and northeast Florida (under the brands United Legacy Bank and Reunion Bank of Florida). NBC also operates two full-service banking offices in Atlanta. The company carries $1.9 billion in assets as of Dec. 31.
Megyn Kelly leaving Fox News, will host 2 shows on NBC
Megyn Kelly, the Fox News star who’s had a contentious relationship with President-elect Donald Trump, said Tuesday that she’s leaving the network for NBC News, where she will host a daytime talk show and a weekend newsmagazine, as well as contribute to breaking news coverage. NBC News made the announcement Tuesday, ending months of speculation over whether she would re-up with Fox, where she has flourished while suffering bruised feelings in recent months, or start a new chapter in her career. Her contract with Fox expires this summer. Her last show on Fox will be Friday night. Kelly’s departure deprives Fox News of its second-most-watched host, behind only Bill O’Reilly, and a hole at 9 p.m. in its prime-time lineup. “While I will greatly miss my colleagues at Fox, I am delighted to be joining the NBC News family and taking on a new challenge,” Kelly said in a message on Twitter on Tuesday. Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of Fox, said that “we thank Megyn Kelly for her 12 years of contributions to Fox News. We hope she enjoys tremendous success in her career and wish her and her family all the best.” Kelly’s star power grew after she became a flashpoint in the presidential campaign after Trump objected to her questioning in the first Republican presidential debate a year and a half ago. He tweeted angry messages about her and boycotted another Fox debate after the network refused to replace her as one of the debate moderators. She also became a central figure in the downfall of former Fox News chief Roger Ailes, telling in-house investigators of inappropriate conduct by Ailes that supported women who had made similar accusations. Details about Kelly’s new jobs at NBC will be revealed in upcoming months, said Andrew Lack, chairman of the NBC Universal News Group. “Megyn is an exceptional journalist and news anchor, who has had an extraordinary career” Lack said. “She’s demonstrated tremendous skill and poise, and we’re lucky to have her.” Kelly wasn’t immediately available for comment about what made her choose to leave Fox. But she said in an interview with The Associated Press in November that the factors she was weighing “mostly involve a 7-, 5- and 3-year-old,” her children. Her Fox show airs live at 9 p.m., giving her no time at home with her children in the evenings. She stressed that point in closing remarks on her program Tuesday, which she addressed to the audience. Kelly said she valued the “human connection” the show gave her with viewers, but said she needed more of that connection with her children. She expressed gratitude to her next employer, NBC, and current one. “I am deeply thankful to Fox News for the wonderful 12 years I have had here. I’ve grown up here, and been given every chance a young reporter could ever ask for,” Kelly said. As a star in demand, Kelly was no doubt able to seek a schedule that would give her more time at home in the evening. A former lawyer who was raised in upstate New York, Kelly turned to television and got a job in Fox’s Washington office. She was noticed by Ailes, and given a daytime show. Her poise and sharpness, and willingness to ask tough questions of all political sides, made her a star and led Ailes to give her a coveted prime-time slot on cable news’ most-watched network. Her contentious relationship with Trump began when she asked the Republican businessman about statements he had made about women, infuriating him. He tweeted his disdain for her and although they made peace when Kelly interviewed Trump for a prime-time special last May, the relationship never became warm. Trump made Kelly’s prime-time colleague, Sean Hannity, his preferred stopping place for interviews during the campaign and didn’t come on her Fox News Channel show. “I really had to choose – am I going to be an honest journalist … or am I going to suck up to Trump?” she told the AP. “I chose the former, and it’s worked out fine for me.” It put Kelly in an awkward position with Fox News Channel viewers who favored Trump, however. At one point during a Hannity interview with Trump, a live audience at a Trump rally booed the mention of her name. Kelly’s immediate silence after Gretchen Carlson’s lawsuit last summer alleging unwanted advances from Ailes, at a time other Fox News personalities were supporting their boss, was telling. She told investigators that Ailes had made sexually suggestive comments to her and tried to kiss her, then made an angry reference to her contract when she rebuffed him. Ailes has denied any untoward advances involving Kelly. Her move was a big boost for broadcast network news divisions, which had struggled somewhat during the presidential campaign given the non-stop coverage provided by the cable news outlets. NBC News had recently been experimenting with a new Sunday night newsmagazine, “Dateline NBC: On Assignment,” hosted by Lester Holt in a traditional format with a mix of news and feature stories, a template Kelly is expected to use. Weekday “Dateline” editions focus on criminal justice stories. The move was a blow to Fox and its parent company, 21st Century Fox, whose leaders James and Lachlan Murdoch had made re-signing Kelly a priority and were believed in the industry to be offering her more money to stay. In her tweet on Tuesday, Kelly said she was deeply grateful to Fox News, its leaders and Fox’s viewers, “who have taught me so much about what really matters.” Kelly gave a signal of her future direction with last May’s interview special on the Fox broadcasting network. It wasn’t a critical or commercial success, however. Fox News does make in-house talent development a priority, however, and recently installed Tucker Carlson as a 7 p.m. host following the abrupt departure of Greta Van Susteren last summer. With Kelly taking a break over the holidays, Fox used Sandra Smith, Shannon Bream, Martha MacCallum and
Unlike first, second debate doesn’t set viewership record
An estimated 66.5 million people watched the second debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, down from the record-setting audience who saw their first match but on par with the Obama-Romney contests four years ago. The first debate reached a total of 84 million viewers, more than for any other presidential debate on record, the Nielsen company said on Monday. The previous record of 80.6 million had been set for the only debate between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in 1980. In 2012, an estimated 65.6 million people watched the second debate between President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, after 67.2 million saw their first debate. On Sunday, the two candidates were competing against the NFL’s prime-time contest between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants, which was seen by 16.6 million people on NBC. A football game aired opposite the first debate, too, but it was on cable’s ESPN and reached only 8 million people. Sunday’s debate, moderated tightly by CNN’s Anderson Cooper and ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, was dominated early by questions surrounding Trump’s lewd conversation with Billy Bush in a recently resurfaced “Access Hollywood” outtake. In another clip getting wide airplay on Monday, Trump tells Clinton that “you’d be in jail” if he were elected. Raddatz on Monday said she could feel the tension in the room from the start. “When they came together at the beginning and didn’t shake hands, you knew you were in for a long evening,” she said on “Good Morning America” on Monday. The candidates shook hands at the end, following a disarming question from an audience member, who asked each candidate if they could think of one thing positive to say about the other. Raddatz and Cooper received generally good reviews for their sharp questioning and attempts to keep the candidates in line. Trump complained at times about not being treated fairly. At one point, when Trump objected to the Obama administration signaling in advance about an attack on ISIS positions in Iraq, Raddatz interjected with possible reasons for this tactic, including warning civilians to get out of harm’s way. CBS withdrawal from the political competition. CNN had 11.2 million viewers and Fox News Channel had 9.9 million, essentially flip-flopping their positions from the first debate. While that may be a reflection of a CNN personality serving as a moderator Sunday, it may also be an ominous sign of growing disinterest in the contest among Fox’s Republican-dominated fan base. A Fox personality, Chris Wallace, moderates the scheduled third and final debate Oct. 19. Republish with permission of the Associated Press.
Major networks spent 14 hours on candidate coverage in 2015, report shows
Major networks have already spent more than 14 hours of nightly news airtime covering presidential candidates this year, according to a report detailing broadcast coverage of 2016 presidential candidates. The Tyndall Report, which tallies coverage from ABC, NBC and CBS, found the big three had spent a combined 857 minutes covering 2016 presidential campaigns during their nightly newscasts through the first 11 months of 2015. The figure is high enough to surpass penultimate year coverage totals in six of the last seven presidential election cycles. The lead up to the 2008 election, which also saw a two-term commander in chief exit the White House, was the only cycle to get more coverage. NBC led its rivals with 349 minutes of campaign coverage over the past 11 months. ABC logged 261 minutes while CBS has featured 247 minutes of coverage during its nightly newscasts. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has accounted for 27 percent of all network election coverage — about 234 minutes — this year. The real estate magnate’s campaign has received constant coverage since he entered the race in June, whether for policy positions or his holdout tactics leading up to the Republican debates. Coincidentally, Trump’s poll numbers have hovered around the 27 percent range, giving him the highest support among the crowded Republican field. On the whole, GOP campaigns combined for 570 minutes of coverage compared to 226 minutes for the Democrats, which have three candidates still in the race. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who just a few months ago was figured to be the GOP front-runner, got the second most coverage in the Republican field with 56 minutes, narrowly edging out retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who accounted for 54 minutes of airtime. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio came in third with 22 minutes, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with just seven minutes. Across the aisle, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton topped the Democratic field with 113 minutes of coverage. That total, however, doesn’t include the 88 minutes networks spent reporting on the controversy surrounding her use of a private email server during her tenure in the State Department, nor does it include 29 minutes of airtime used to cover investigations into the Benghazi Consulate attack. Other Democratic candidates didn’t fare near as well. Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s closest competition in the primary race, received a combined 10 minutes of coverage from the three major networks — less than a fifth of the Vice President Joe Biden’s airtime, despite him never formally entering the race. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has hovered in the low single digits in most polls of Democratic voters, had no coverage according to the report.
Donald Trump’s unorthodox campaign takes new twist on ‘SNL’
Donald Trump‘s unorthodox campaign for president will take another unusual step this weekend when he takes a break from typical campaigning to host “Saturday Night Live.” The appearance will put the billionaire businessman and reality TV star in rare company: Only eight politicians previously have hosted “Saturday Night Live” in its entire 40-year-old history. And only one of those politicians-slash-guest hosts was an active presidential candidate — the Rev. Al Sharpton, who was seeking the Democratic nomination when he hosted in December 2003. The appearance is the latest example of how Trump — who first guest hosted “SNL” in 2004 just weeks after the show he helped create, NBC’s “The Apprentice,” began airing — has been able to capitalize on his celebrity throughout his campaign, which has translated into record ratings for networks on each of the three Republican debates. Trump has repeatedly bragged about the attention his appearances have been generating, predicting the show will have its highest ratings ever with him at the helm. Throughout its history, “SNL” has poked fun at political figures — both via cast impersonations and with guest appearances by the politicians themselves. It and other late-night television shows also give candidates the chance to show off their less serious sides and connect with a new and generally younger audience than the usual early-state rallies and debate stages. Sharpton said his whole campaign team had opposed the idea when he was invited to host by “SNL” executive producer Lorne Michaels, but he decided an appearance could help humanize his persona. “I was known in America at the time as a civil rights leader and protest leader, and I wanted to show that I could laugh at myself, I had a sense of humor, and be self-effacing, and that I could be comfortable with a broader audience,” he said in an interview, adding that the appearance yielded tangible results, with people bringing it up constantly as he campaigned. The challenge for Trump, whose invitation has provoked an outcry from groups concerned about what they perceive as an anti-Latino bias by the candidate, would be making a similar connection, Sharpton said. “We know him as this brash, bombastic, self-important person. But can he laugh at himself? Can he relate to the average guy in a bowling alley?” posed Sharpton. “I think that he has the opportunity or the risk of establishing that tomorrow night.” In the 2004 host appearance, Trump opened his monologue by joking about his star power: “It’s great to be here at ‘Saturday Night Live,’ but I’ll be completely honest, it’s even better for ‘Saturday Night Live’ that I’m here. Nobody’s bigger than me. Nobody’s better than me. I’m a ratings machine.” Trump echoed those words earlier this week in an appearance on CNN when he said “nobody gets ratings like me.” He said he initially had been asked to be in a single skit this week, but then Michaels urged him to guest host instead. NBC has refused to comment on the objections to Trump’s appearance on the show. Earlier this week, “SNL” released several promotional spots featuring Trump, including one in which he refers to a Republican opponent, Ben Carson, as “a complete and total loser.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Frustrated Republicans contemplate changes to debate setup
Republican candidates frustrated by their party’s presidential debates are contemplating changes to those remaining on the nomination calendar, even beyond the GOP chairman’s decision to suspend a partnership with NBC News and its properties on a debate set for February. The complaints prompted a private meeting Sunday night in Washington, organized by Ben Carson‘s campaign, with representatives from more than a dozen campaigns expected to attend. Yet it seemed unlikely that the campaigns would reach a consensus, given their competing needs, and even Carson’s campaign expected the meeting to achieve “absolutely nothing.” The most recent debate, moderated by CNBC in Boulder, Colorado, on Wednesday night, drew the harshest criticism. Afterward, some candidates complained that the questions were not substantive enough; others wanted more air time or the chance to deliver opening and closing statements. “We need to mature in the way that we do these debates if they’re going to be useful to the American people,” retired neurosurgeon Carson told ABC’s “This Week.” The push-back comes despite a high-profile effort by the Republican National Committee to improve the debate process going into the 2016 election season. The party said the 2012 debate schedule promoted too much fighting among candidates, so for 2016, the RNC dramatically reduced the number of debates for this election and played a leading role in coordinating network hosts and even moderators, in some cases. Three debates remain before the first nomination contest, the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1; the next one is scheduled for Nov. 10 in Las Vegas. The RNC has sanctioned five debates after the caucuses. While organizers of the meeting were not including the RNC, the party has been in regular communication with campaigns about their concerns. “This is the first step in the process of understanding what the candidates want, and then we need to have a more specific conversation about NBC,” RNC chief strategist Sean Spicer said Sunday when asked about the meeting. “We need to start a process. Tonight’s the first step.” It seemed unlikely that the campaigns would reach a consensus, given their competing needs. Second-tier contenders such as South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham want to be featured alongside their higher-profile rivals. Some candidates, including Carson, are pressing for a greater focus on substance, more notice of the guidelines and perhaps fewer future debates. “Everybody thinks there are too many,” Carson spokesman Doug Watts said Sunday, adding that he had low expectations for the meeting. “Realistically, we expect absolutely nothing to come out of it.” Some candidates are trying to use the debate discord to their advantage — none more than Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Campaigning in Iowa this weekend, he slammed the CNBC debate moderators for asking questions in a way that he said “illustrate why the American people don’t trust the media.” He was cheered after calling for future debates to be moderated by conservatives such as radio host Rush Limbaugh. Watts said every Republican campaign had agreed to attend except for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie‘s. Republican attorney Ben Ginsberg, the general counsel for Mitt Romney’s last presidential campaign, was to moderate the meeting. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows
Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows: ABC’s “This Week” — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders; Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson; Reps. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii. ___ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz; Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas. ___ CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Reps. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and Elijah Cummings, D-Md. ___ CNN’s “State of the Union” — 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. ___ “Fox News Sunday” — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Donald Trump doubles down on immigrant comments
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is doubling down on his description of Mexican immigrants as criminals. The GOP businessman issued a statement Monday responding to critics in and out of his party. Trump called Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists as he launched his presidential bid last month. Several businesses, including NBC, Univision and Macy’s department stores, have cut ties with Trump. In his new statement, Trump said, “The Mexican government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States.” In many cases, he says, they are “criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.” He said, “Many fabulous people come in from Mexico and our country is better for it.” He then called the United States “a dumping ground for Mexico.” Trump is among more than a dozen Republicans running for president. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
NBC dumps Donald Trump over Mexican immigrant remarks
Presidential candidate Donald Trump, a part-time Palm Beach resident, is getting serious backlash over comments about Mexican immigrants in his campaign announcement speech. NBC is severing ties to the outspoken celebrity business mogul, and will not air the partially Trump-owned Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants. Trump fired back with a statement accusing NBC of giving in to political correctness and being “weak and foolish.” The network is willing to “stand behind lying Brian Williams,’ Trump said, “but won’t stand behind people that tell it like it is.” Spanish-language channel Univision also severed ties will Trump last week, saying it won’t air the pageants because of his comments. Trump then barred Univision execs from his Doral golf course. In his June 16 announcement, Trump said Mexican immigrants were “bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.” He also supports building a wall along the southern border of the U.S., forcing Mexico to pay for it – a suggestion the Mexican government calls “biased and absurd.” Trump doubled down on his comments in a statement Monday. “As of today, Donald J. Trump is no longer affiliated with NBC. Mr. Trump stands by his statements on illegal immigration, which are accurate. NBC is weak, and like everybody else is trying to be politically correct — that is why our country is in serious trouble. “We must have strong borders and not let illegal immigrants enter the United States. As has been stated continuously in the press, people are pouring across our borders unabated. Public reports routinely state great amounts of crime are being committed by illegal immigrants. This must be stopped and it must be stopped now. Long ago I told NBC that I would not being doing The Apprentice because I am running for President in order to Make our Country Great Again. “If NBC is so weak and so foolish to not understand the serious illegal immigration problem in the United States, coupled with the horrendous and unfair trade deals we are making with Mexico, then their contract violating closure of Miss Universe/Miss USA will be determined in court. “Furthermore, they will stand behind lying Brian Williams, but won’t stand behind people that tell it like it is, as unpleasant as that may be.”
